PHILADELPHIA: HITTING: This Phillies lineup had another subpar season, finishing 18th in the majors in homers (153) and 13th in runs (4.4 per game). The team re-signed free-agent SS JIMMY ROLLINS, especially because light-hitting WILSON VALDEZ is his backup. Raul Ibanez has left town, which allows OF JOHN MAYBERRY JR. to display his power on a daily basis. He had 15 HR in 267 at-bats last year. 1B RYAN HOWARD will not be ready for Opening Day after Achilles surgery in October, and will be replaced by a platoon of newcomers, JIM THOME and TY WIGGINTON. 2B CHASE UTLEY continues to be bothered by tendinitis in his knee, which has caused his numbers to drop significantly in the past two years. He will not be ready for Opening Day and no timetable has been set for his return. Veterans OF SHANE VICTORINO and C CARLOS RUIZ are both coming off typical productive seasons. OF HUNTER PENCE batted .324 with 11 HR after his trade from Houston and is poised for a huge 2012 campaign at age 28. 3B PLACIDO POLANCO is coming off his third Gold Glove season at the hot corner, but his .277 BA in 2011 was his lowest mark since 1999. Stud prospect OF DOMONIC BROWN is expected to begin the season in Triple-A. STARTING PITCHING: ROY HALLADAY won the Cy Young Award in 2010 in his first year in Philadelphia, but he was even better in 2011, posting a career-best 2.35 ERA and also reaching a personal best with 220 strikeouts. CLIFF LEE was also outstanding in his first full season in a Phillies uniform, tallying six shutouts, which included a stretch of three straight blankings midway through the year. He wasn't afraid to pitch in Citizens Bank Park, going 11-3 with a 1.94 ERA at his new home. Like Halladay and Lee, COLE HAMELS also notched a career-best ERA (2.79) and held batters to a .214 average. Although he has the stigma of being oft-injured, Hamels was able to start 30+ games for the fourth straight season. VANCE WORLEY was impressive once he was inserted into the rotation, going 11-3 with a 3.02 ERA as a starter and fanning 73 over 74.2 innings of his final dozen starts. JOE BLANTON rounds out the rotation, but he could be limited a bit after an elbow injury cost him much of the 2011 season. RELIEF PITCHING: Not willing to shell out the big money for inconsistent and oft-injured closer Brad Lidge, the Phillies decided to spend their dough on JONATHAN PAPELBON instead. The former Red Sox closer was 31-of-34 in save chances last year with a career-high 87 strikeouts and just 10 walks. With the departure of free agent Ryan Madson, ANTONIO BASTARDO assumes eighth-inning duties. The southpaw allowed a microscopic .144 opponents' BA, won six games and saved eight others last season. JOSE CONTERAS (age 40) returns for his seventh-inning duty and appears healthy enough to pitch following last year's season-ending elbow surgery. He is 9-of-10 in save chances since 2010.

ARIZONA: HITTING: Arizona's offense placed ninth in the majors in runs (4.5 per game), homers (172) and OPS (.736), thanks in big part to its young outfield trio. OF JUSTIN UPTON, 24, had a career year and led his team with a .289 BA, 31 HR, 88 RBI, 105 runs and a .369 OBP. OF GERARDO PARRA may have won a Gold Glove, but OF JASON KUBEL is the new leftfielder. Kubel's power numbers will improve in the desert. OF CHRIS YOUNG's .236 BA was poor, but his .331 OBP allowed him to score 89 times and swipe a team-high 22 SB. 1B PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT, 24, belted 30 homers in 103 Double-A games and continued his power in the majors with eight bombs in 156 at-bats. 3B RYAN ROBERTS (19 HR, 86 runs) and C MIGUEL MONTERO (18 HR, 86 RBI) also had career-best seasons. 2B AARON HILL was a great midseason acquisition from Toronto, tallying an .878 OPS in 33 games with Arizona. SS STEPHEN DREW batted only .252 with 5 HR in half a season before fracturing his ankle. He'll probably return in early May, and speedy WILLIE BLOOMQUIST will replace him in the starting lineup. STARTING PITCHING: D-backs starters won 71 games, sixth-most in baseball. IAN KENNEDY won 21 of those contests and led the team with a 2.88 ERA and 198 strikeouts. He also held batters to a .210 BA at hitter-friendly Chase Field. DANIEL HUDSON was strong in all facets as well, notching 16 wins, 169 K and a 3.49 ERA. He pitches like a seasoned veteran, but he's only 25. Newcomer TREVOR CAHILL was 6-1 with a 1.79 ERA in his first 10 starts before finishing 6-13 with a 5.25 ERA. Don't expect a huge comeback going from a pitcher's park to a hitter's park. The Diamondbacks brought back innings eater JOE SAUNDERS, which closed the door for stud prospect WADE MILEY to begin 2012 in Arizona's starting rotation. Once the first-round draft pick from 2008 cuts down on his walks, everything else should fall into place, and he should be pitching for the big club come September. JOSH COLLMENTER burst on the scene with his crazy delivery and was unhittable in his first six starts (1.05 ERA, 0.76 WHIP). He predictably tailed off, but still led the rotation with a 1.07 WHIP, walking just 28 batters in 154.1 innings. RELIEF PITCHING: Arizona led the majors with 58 saves, as J.J. PUTZ tallied 45 of those. He didn't allow a run in his final 18 appearances, finishing with a 2.17 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 9.5 K per 9 IP. He was unhittable on the road, giving up just one run on nine hits in 24.1 innings (.113 opp. BA). Putz does have a history of being injured, and if he gets hurt again, DAVID HERNANDEZ proved a worthy replacement, saving 11 games last year and posting a strong 10.0 K per 9 IP rate. He held opponents to a meager .193 BA. BRAD ZIEGLER was even better after Arizona acquired him at the deadline. In 23 appearances with the D-backs, the side-arming Ziegler notched a 1.74 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.

The Diamondbacks (21-16), who had their season-high five-game winning streak stopped, finished with nine hits but stranded nine runners and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

"We had a chance to win but things didn't go our way," said manager Kirk Gibson, whose team fell one game back of San Francisco in the NL West. "It was a struggle."

Now Gibson's club faces another tough test against Kendrick (4-1, 2.45 ERA), who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over his last six starts while Lee finds some consistency and Roy Halladay recovers from shoulder surgery.

Since giving up five in 5 2-3 innings while losing his first start, the right-hander hasn't allowed more than two runs in any outing - going 4-0 with a 1.71 ERA over that span.

"Kyle's pitched great," second baseman Chase Utley told the team's official website. "It seems like every game, he definitely gives us a chance to win."

Although he's 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA on the road and had a run of 25 scoreless innings there end in his last start, Kendrick hasn't had that kind of success against the Diamondbacks.

He's 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA in three career starts in Arizona, and hasn't beaten the Diamondbacks in six lifetime outings.

Arizona, though, has scored just nine runs while going 1 for 26 with runners in scoring position over its last four contests.

Paul Goldschmidt is hitless in his last five in those situations and 3 for 20 overall in his last six home games.

Gerardo Parra was a bright spot Saturday with three hits and is 8 for 18 over his last five games.

Scheduled starter Brandon McCarthy (0-3, 6.75) looks for his first win with the Diamondbacks in his first career start against the Phillies.

The right-hander has struggled since getting hit in the head with a liner that caused a skull fracture, an epidural hemorrhage and a brain contusion that required surgery last September.

McCarthy, who went 8-6 with a career-best 3.24 ERA before having his 2012 season cut short, will try to build off his finest performance of this season. He allowed three runs and eight hits over 6 1-3 innings before leaving without a decision in a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

McCarthy faces a Philadelphia team that has struggled offensively, totaling nine runs and hitting .225 over its last four games.

Utley, Michael Young and Ryan Howard are a combined 4 for 41 (.098) during that span.

Jimmy Rollins, however, went 2 for 3 with two RBIs on Saturday and is 6 for 16 with a homer and three RBIs in his last four games.

"Obviously, you adjust your swing because you've got to get a good swing first," said Rollins, who broke out of a 3-for-27 slump. "Now that I'm starting to get there, the confidence comes that I can put on the same swing in any situation."